Tag Archives: birds

Wrapping up my New Bedford Day

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I don’t carry a lot of cash on my little excursions as  most places let you use a credit or debit card and my little jaunt to New Bedford was no different. Even so I hate to use a card for minor things so I paid cash for lunch and I had picked up a couple of small things at the Visitor Center which meant that I found myself cash poor and I still had to get the car out of the parking garage.

Not knowing what that would cost or if they would take plastic I went in search of an ATM. The little free map I had picked up at the Whaling Museum showed a lot of bank branches in downtown New Bedford, which from the waterfront was uphill.

I set out to locate a bank and pretty soon I saw a lot of them. I also saw some really interesting buildings and decorative trim. I took some pictures of the architecture and the bustle of the downtown area.

Having made a successful ATM stop I wandered back to the parking garage. Before I headed to the exit I drove to the roof to see what kind of views there might be from up there. It’s actually a pretty interesting view. You can see out over the harbor and all the fishing boats and ferries. On the other side is a bridge that looks like it must be a pedestrian footbridge.

Being so close to the water I had plenty of company from the sea gulls and took the opportunity to take some more pictures of them. There’s a building with whales painted on it. I’m told it’s just a warehouse but that the artist Wayland painted the mural. He is known for his ocean murals and has painted around 84 murals. There used to be one in Boston but I haven’t been there since the “Big Dig” so I don’t know if that was saved or razed in the construction. I sure hope it was saved.  

Photo op finished I headed back down the ramp to the exit. When I got to the booth to pay there was no attendant. I waited  and waited, cars came in but no one came out but me and no one came to take my money. After about 15 minutes I gave up and headed back out to the highway and home.

 

In speaking to some of my co workers who have lived in New Bedford all their lives, I get the feeling I have only scratched the surface of what this city has to offer. I see many more visits and posts about New Bedford in my future. But until then I can say  this was another nice visit to a very interesting city.

Back to Connecticut Chasing Eagles

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Editor in Chief

Dusty Roads, the author of this blog is on her way to Haddam, Ct this morning. She’s giving the eagles of Connecticut another chance to let her get a picture.

This time she’ s taking a river cruise with a group called River Quest.

The weather is supposed to be clear but bitterly cold so on the water she is going to freeze. She has her hat, ear muffs, super thick gloves (lot of good they will be when she’s using the camera), turtle neck shirt, fleece vest, insulated “hoodie” and winter jacket..she’s layered all right!

 Map quest says it’s a 2 hour drive and but it’s RT 95 and rush hour so Dusty is allowing an extra hour to get there.

Good Luck, Dusty. Can’t wait for your report!

Gertrude M Boyden Wildlife Refuge, Taunton Ma

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I know I’ve mentioned the Gertrude M. Boyden Wildlife Refuge before in these pages but I’d like to tell you a little more about it.

I’ve been spending more time there since I started taking part in the Photo- a- Day challenge because The Refuge is also known as the “Bird Sanctuary”. Right by the visitor center there are 2-3 bird feeders that are always busy. You can see many of the pictures I have taken there on my blog: http://project365challenge2011.blogspot.com or on my flickr photostream.

But enough “self promotion” . I want to tell you about the Refuge.

I have not even begun to scratch the surface on the trails. I first started going to the sanctuary about 2 years ago when my neighbor told me about it. I wanted to find someplace to take walks and maybe lose some weight. Walking around the block on the sidewalk just wasn’t cutting it for me and being fairly new to the neighborhood, I didn’t know many places at that time.

My neighbor and I were talking and he suggested I give the sanctuary a try. That year I only went a couple of times but it is a beautiful, peaceful place. I have been back many times since and can’t wait for spring to get here so I can explore more of the trails.

Although I often see a lot of cars in the parking lot and folks walking their dogs, the grounds have always been clean and the trails are never crowded.

So far I have walked the Floral Garden trail many times and the River Walk several times as well. When I first started walking on the River Walk trail there was an option to either take to “high road” or the “low road” as I liked to think of it. Since that first hike heavy rains and spring run-off have forced the sanctuary to close the “low” trail. That’s too bad as I liked it both for its proximity to the river and the log stairs at the end which always got my heart pumping by the time I reached the top and the meadow that marked the end of that trail.

I tried a new trail this winter but the snow made it hard to follow and I ended up circling back into the Floral Garden Trail.

The refuge consists of over 50 acres bordered by the 3 Mile River. The trails meander through forests, meadows and riverbank. They tell me there is even a covered bridge, a boardwalk and Osprey nests. That must be on one of the trails that I haven’t walked yet. The grounds include a picnic area with tables and fireplaces.

You can get maps and information at the visitor center .

There now I really want to go check out the remaining trails…with my camera of course.

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Getting Lost in Rhode Island

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If you’re going to get lost anywhere I guess Rhode Island is a good place since it isn’t very big. Sooner or later you’re bound to see something you recognize. I was headed down to the Audubon Society Environmental Education Center. Now that’s a mouthful.

I used map quest since I don’t have a GPS nor did I have a RI map. To add to the problem my printer is being temperamental and printed out blank sheets so I hastily scribbled the directions and set off. According to Map quest it should take me about 40 minutes.

The first leg was pretty easy and I made good time. The problem came when I found my last turn…RT 103. According to my notes it was supposed to be RT 103/114 and I would end up on Hope St. There wasn’t any RT 114 and the street name was Child. I took it anyway and did see a sign for the Audubon Wildlife Sanctuary. Different name but close enough except that that was all I found, just the sign.

However as I was driving around I came down to the water and there were a bunch of ducks and a swan so I pulled over and got out. I parked on the side of the road and followed the shore. I found more birds and gulls and loads of sea shells.

 It was pretty chilly and windy but I was so engrossed that I didn’t realize it until I turned around to walk back to the car.

A little farther on the road moved back to the coastline and I saw some more swans. I pulled over where a stone wall bordered the water. One of the swans was floating next to what appeared to be another dead swan, probably it’s mate. That was so sad. It’s been a harsh winter all around. There was another pair of swans out in deeper water but this one made no move to join them, instead it stayed right next to the dead swan as if standing vigil.

I decided to backtrack and see if I could find RT 114. Once I located it I followed it past Roger Williams University to the Mt. Hope Bridge. It was afternoon by this time and the bridge looked wonderful. I pulled over in a little parking area and took some pictures of the bridge. It looks like there’s a sidewalk so maybe I can walk up the bridge and get pictures from the top. I’ll wait for a little warmer day for that.

Turning around I headed back home. The sun was sinking and the moon was rising so I took the opportunity to experiment with different settings on the camera for the clouds and sky. There’s quite a difference in color depending on what settings are used. I may not have found what I was looking for but I had a nice afternoon anyway.

I’ll try to find the Audubon Center another day.

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It’s My Birthday!

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Good Morning everyone

It’s my birthday and other than the normal aches and pains of someone over 50, I don’t feel any different today than I did yesterday. 🙂 So I guess I have reached the age where another birthday is NBD (no big deal).

I didn’t have much luck with the eagles when I went to Connecticut last week but I’m going to try again. This time I am going to take the “River Cruise”. I booked it this morning. My reservation is for March 3.

My plans for today are to do some more research on the Sedona trip and then update you on my results over the next few days.

Other than this short post,  I think I’ll take the day off from writing today. Give the old brain a rest.

This common merganser was drifting on the Housatonic River.